meriperellux

[meriperellux]

about to end?

I can't believe this bootcamp is about to end! This week has been the hardest so far but at the same time my favorite. I have learned a lot, I have challenged myself day by day and I had the opportunity to receive feedback from outside professionals.  Also, 1:1 with the teacher were more than helpful!. I'm really enjoying the whole process and proud as far as we've come. 

I'm infinitely happy to meet all this classmates and I hope to keep in touch once it's all over. 

Enjoy this beautiful sunny weekend!!!!

PD: an adrenaline and release shot  was what I felt when I finished the jury presentation!

[meriperellux]

Only 3 more weeks!

This week I felt distracted thousand times 😂as my body and my mind were exhausted.

I wonder how would have been this bootcamp if we were all together with presencial lessons! Would have been great! I kind of miss the life before covid and the real interactions with people out of zoom.

This learning path is being inspiring, challenging and beautiful. I am incredibly happy to be a student again.

Embrace change and make the most of everything that comes your way :)⚡⚡⚡

Happy Monday to everybody!

[meriperellux]

Contextual Inquiry

For the next project we need to find an opportunity to replace a spreadsheet workflow with a tailored product to be launched as a desktop web app.

I just read an article about ‘Remote Contextual Inquiry’ (RCI) which is used to fill the research gap between data collected during remote usability testing and on-site contextual inquiries with end users.

this research technique gives us the opportunity to view our users' desktop to observe how they perform certain tasks.  It allows us to identify the end user’s task flow and the features and functions that may already be available to the user, but are not being used.

I already tried to apply this technique for my project but I can’t wait to learn more through my following interviews and be able to get more valuable info when I can observe their process, behavior and pain points.

Let’s see how it goes :)!!

[meriperellux]

Another week is gone!

Week 5 was a good week! We worked on a group project to redesign an existing website of a small bussines. i had the pleasure to team with Manu and Marina..... Que preciosidad!! We had so much fun, we worked hard and what I liked most...we brought our creativity outside of our comfort zone and we forced ourselves to think out of the box in the style tiles. We enjoyed like kids doing that.... first time during the bootcamp I felt we can explore our creativity without worrying about time.

Also, we met three web developers that they helped us on the coding part of the project. I loved to see how differently we think when we design. They tend to choose a design solution for the easiest way to code and we think, as a priority, how to make it functional for the user.

Happy Monday!

[meriperellux]

Time Flies

This week was faster than a Ferrari... suddenly... Thursday, time to prepare the presentation for Friday! It was a hard challenging week but I enjoyed the whole process.

I couldn’t be happier to meet this amazing classmates that even when we are under pressure and stress... we laugh until even cry. I love laughing therapy! Thanks for making the work time sweeter.

I’m impressed with all the amazing projects that I saw on Friday, such a fantastic work! Proud of all of you :)

And again, Thanks for all your  feedbacks, they're like an energy shot!

[meriperellux]

Designing an IOS interface

For next week’s project I have to design a new mobile e-learning app that has to be launched on both iOS and Android.

My user persona is Matthew who has been freelancing and living a digital nomad lifestyle for the past 3 years. He is a IOS user . 

For that reason I will design my app in an IOS point of view and later on I will adapt to Android design. This are some of the ascpects that I would have to pay attention:

1.  Differences in navigation

ANDROID :  universal navigation bar at the bottom of Android devices. 

Using the back button in the navigation bar is an easy way to go back to the previous screen or step

IOS: no global navigation bar

So Internal screens in a IOS app should have a native navigation bar with a back button in the top left corner

2.  Date picker

ANDROID:  Monthly calendar

IOS : slot machine reel-style date selector

3. Button styles

two styles of buttons in the Material Design Guidelines — flat and raised. 

ANDROID : The text on buttons in Material Design is usually all uppercase.

IOS: Sometimes we find uppercase button text but most often we find title case.

4. Button for primary action in an application

ANDROID: It is named floating action button and Usually is located on the right side.

IOS:  Named call to action button, which is located in the center of the tab bar.

5. Option Selector

ANDROID:  at the left side prefers to use the check boxes

iOS: located on the right side and use thin check icons 

[meriperellux]

One idea is not enough

Nice starting quote of the Iterative UI Design Video : Good design is not easy. 

Great design look obvious and effortless but it isn’t like that. A great design can transform a frustrating and intimidating task to a simple, elegant and approachable task.

This two guys explained in a really simple and funny way the process of designing an app. Knowing the app goals , the quality of the experience that you want users to have, will motivate you to create a great product. The importance to have more than one idea and discuss about them with your team (ux and ui designers) which one is better and why. Also, I found really interesting how they explained the design of the iterations.

[meriperellux]

Art to Nature - New feature to an existing app

Last week I worked with my team in a project that consists to add a karaoke feature on Spotify.  Studying, analazying the brand and do a benchmark of the competitors and comparatives made me feel closer to a real scenario from a client request. Adding a feature to an existing app means solving a need without affecting what is already there. That remembered me architecture, where a project is nothing without a location context. When we design new projects we need to create a respectful union among environment, location and the new building. A symbiosis between architecture and nature.

 A new feature should be the same, a symbiosis with the existing app. 

Can’t wait for the next weeks and I’m proud of learning to organize my time better :)Happy weekend to everybody! 

Reference : Mirador del Río, Cesar Manrique. LANZAROTE, Canary Islands.

[meriperellux]

Design as functional beauty

This article ( https://ia.net/topics/learning-to-see ) made me travel back to my first year of architecture. :)

“The best way to learn to see is copying the masters.” 

We were told by our teachers during the first year to do that. To redraw, study and understand deeper each of the architectural projects from the genius architects over the last years. From modern architecture until ancient times. Personally, it was a great way to train your eye, learn to see, understand why they decide to do it like that and how they create a place where beauty and solving needs can be accomplished at the same time. Learning from the invisible do it visible.

In addition, when you imitate you have the chance to improve what the others make less functional or discover the pain points and learn from them and do it better.

Also, another lesson I learned and I keep repeating to myself  (well explained in the article)  is that something can’t be beautiful if is useless. Beauty follows functionality but also psychological and aesthetic. Solving the needs of the users through creating a better place and improve the life of them is the main goal of any design process. :)

[meriperellux]

Better together

I think giving and receiving feedback is the coolest way to give birth fabulous projects! All the works I saw on friday were fantastic!

One of the things I like most to learn from, is crits. I think is such a constructive way to improve your own project and an amazing way to brainstorming together about other projects. It’s incredibly useful to grow professionally but only if you keep a non-personal and objective perspective.  Following the dynamic of crits, the flow during the week between all the teammates was beautiful. When I ask for help and feedback about my project I feel they supported me and I enjoyed so much giving my advice and proposal ideas to their projects.

Can’t wait to be better in Figma, I really need it! And make this next 7 weeks the most of it  learning everything I can.

PD: more LAUGHING THERAPY like last friday in ironbeers, PLEASE

[meriperellux]

Surprised!

My opinion about CRITS?

I can just say that is a super useful way to share ideas, brainstorming about the other students apps and receive valuable feedback from others. I aways think... two eyes and one mind can’t do what many eyes and minds can do together. I strongly believe that cooperation is crucial to bring up good developed ideas!

[meriperellux]

1st week = a real roller coaster!

After the first week of UX Bootcamp I can say... I am happy that I've survived!!

It’s been more tiring than I expected even some ex Ironhack students told me! In some way... I guess didn't believe them 100%! The weekend prior to start I did the pre-work in fast-motion as I signed up the course on Friday... definitely,  it’s been 7 exhausting days in a row...  cherry on top is that  I’ve learned sooooo much!!! It’s been a roller coaster emotional week when sometimes I was confuse with many things...  doubting myself.... but practice makes perfect, so I will keep on mind this mantra during stressful moments.  Can’t wait for the next weeks because I am sure as eggs is eggs  that we will learn a lot :) 

[meriperellux]

Ironhack

“The more you learn, the more you want to learn.”

This quote defines perfectly how I feel today about the Bootcamp :)

 Even though it’s being intensive, challenging and many hours in front of the screen.....Im enjoying the process and learning a lot. Team and Teachers are lovely :)

[meriperellux]

New year, new challenges!

Hi! I would introduce a little bit myself!

I’m Meri and I am from Barcelona city. I am an architect and passionate about aesthetic, functional and sustainable designs that enrich and improve our everyday life. Also, one of my traits, is that I always take my camera wherever I go and make sure I get a memory of it :)

For the last 5 years I have been living in Indonesia. I always dreamed (specially during my architecture degree) to live in a tropical paradise with an endless summer, pristine beaches and chasing colourful sunsets on my free time.  It looked like the fate worked in my favor and the planets were aligned too so I got a project in an emergent island called Lombok. I started as an architect and interior designer but the last years I got involved in a Surf/Yoga Retreat and creating content for different brands. I loved it so much that I started focusing on more visual design stuff. 

Covid lockdown gave me the opportunity to study again and do some courses online. I wanted to open up to new job opportunities. Thanks to my brother, who showed to me all the UX and UI design world, and to my architect friend, who recommended to me IronHack, I ended up here! :)

My new adventure is about to start as a UX/UI Design Student at Ironhack Barcelona and honestly, it made me feel excited and nervous at the same time  but I am sure that it would be completely worth it.